2012 Rock Balance Demo - Michael Grab - Gravityglue.com (by Michael Grab)
Text from NPR.org story by Robert Krulwich entitled A Very, Very, Very Delicate Balance.
Last July, Michael decided to give himself a five-minute deadline — five minutes from the moment he turned on the camera till he got a finished sculpture. In this case, he not only beat his deadline; he was able, he says, “to capture the creation and natural collapse of the balance before the five-minute limit.”
But how? How does he do it? First, he says, you’ve got to “know the rocks.” I think this is a Zen thing. Or maybe a sculptor’s thing. In his YouTube commentary, he explains what happens next:
“Notice the technique of bracing the lower rocks while placing the next top rock acts as a pin to stabilize the whole structure, which is why it is very helpful to use a LARGE rock on top. plus, i like the overall design balance that the large top rock adds. and i love shades of red. as soon as i found that red rock, i knew it must go on top. it was a beautiful rock. :) contemplate, try it for yourself. all about presence in the moment. SLOW down. become the balance. :)”
My sense? I think the man’s got great hands, hands that can feel the exact weight of a stone and a mind that can concentrate and somehow get inside these stones and, as he puts it, “Become the balance.” I think Michael, when he does this, crosses the line between animal and mineral. For a brief time, he is what he builds.
